How Could the Trump and Harris Presidencies Affect Child Care Costs?

• The cost of child care is placing a burden on American families.
• Below are some of the policies Harris and Trump have proposed to address these concerns.
• This is the final installment in a five-part series on the effects of a Trump or Harris presidency on U.S. consumers.

With the presidential election days away and early voting already underway in most states, America’s parents are wondering how the next administration will impact the rise. cost of raising children.

In the last of Business Insider’s five-part series on the final stretch before the election, we examine how each candidate and their proposed policies could affect child care prices. The series already covers what impact each candidate is expected to make investments, comprehensive costs, housingAnd taxes.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have spoken out about the importance of making child care more affordable. While Harris has laid out specific plans to help alleviate the high costs of raising children, Trump’s campaign has focused mainly on increasing the amount of child-raising. child tax credit.

Below are three elements of the child care equation and what Harris and Trump supporters are proposing or already doing.

Child care expense assistance

You have Harris I promised limiting families’ child care expenses to no more than 7% of their income Between 8% and 19.3% Spent by the average American family in 2022. This policy was first proposed in President Joe Biden’s speech. 2021 Build Back Better package but it was not accepted by Congress.

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as vice presidentHarris said she is working to encourage states to lower child care costs by cutting copayments for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a federal program that provides child care subsidies to low-income families. Harris wants to make these subsidies more accessible to families of children who are disabled, homeless or in foster care, and to families living at or below 150% of the federal poverty line.

Trump did not include a specific policy to reduce child care costs in his 2024 campaign. while in the officeTrump expanded the child tax credit but made no other significant policy changes.

Neither Trump nor Harris have proposed plans to fund or support child care facilities recruitingHowever, experts believe that the rapid increase in costs to BI is partly due to the industry’s underfunded. Number of child care workers still down there pre-pandemic levels.

“Part of what’s driving this conundrum is that we’re currently placing too much of a burden on parents (and only parents) to pay the child care bill,” said Anne Hedgepeth, senior vice president of policy and research at the advocacy organization Child Care Aware. America.

Cindy Lehnhoff, executive director of the advocacy group National Child Care Association, said previous federal funding pools, such as American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, helped fund child care facilities at the local and federal level. He said there are more plans like this in the future It can expand child care options and make it more affordable for parents.

Child tax credits

Trump and Harris have now proposed expanding the child tax credit. up to $2,000 per child.

Harris’ child tax credit policy will restore what has been developed pandemic period loan, Grants to parents of up to $3,600 per child per year, depending on the child’s age and family income. The plan also includes a $6,000 tax credit for middle- and low-income families. the first year of their child’s lifeHarris said he could get used to it offset expenses such as diapers, car seats, baby food and child care. He also offered other tax deductions For middle- and low-income Americans, this would also benefit some parents.

In August, vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance introduced a child tax credit proposal that would include $5,000 per child for families at all income levels. Previously, Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provided about $2,000 in aid per eligible child, but the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the plan was excluded some low-income families and single-parent families.

US pandemic-era child tax credit out of date at the end of 2021 because Republicans in Congress opposed it. A revamped one that will increase the amount of money families receive Introduced to Congress earlier this year, but it failed to pass the Senate.

paid leave

during his Run for president in 2020Harris supports six-month paid leave policy for Americans who have just had a child or are sick relative. Federal protection of paid leave, It is one of his major speeches in 2024 and is expected to build on Biden’s agenda. 12 weeks paid parental leave.

Trump signs bipartisan bill providing federal workers with 12 weeks of pay while in office parental leave. He did not emphasize this issue during the campaign.

Parents are legally allowed to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Family and Medical Leave ActThe United States does not have a federal paid leave policy. Some states have their own paid leave requirements, while others leave policies up to individual employers.

Without federal paid leave protection, most families they will not have access to parental leave, which can lead to higher childcare costs and lower job security.